Independent institutions that check this jurisdiction's own power — audit, ombudsman, inspector general, civilian review, ethics, and grand-jury bodies established by statute.
The Missouri State Auditor is independently elected statewide to a four-year term and is a constitutional officer. The office audits state agencies, counties, municipalities, and school districts.
Read scorecard → 02 AuditThe Director of the Department of Public Safety, through the Division of POST, holds authority to investigate individual peace officers, file complaints with the Missouri Administrative Hearing...
Read scorecard → 03 Ethics CommissionThe Missouri Ethics Commission enforces campaign finance, lobbying, conflict of interest, and financial disclosure laws for state and local officials. Six members are appointed by the Governor...
Read scorecard → 04 Civilian ReviewA state-created board under RSMo §84.350 consisting of four governor-appointed civilian commissioners plus the Kansas City mayor. The board holds exclusive management and control of KCPD...
Read scorecard → 05 Civilian ReviewReorganized effective March 26, 2025 under RSMo §84.020, the St. Louis Board consists of four citizen commissioners appointed by the governor plus the mayor, and one nonvoting commissioner. The...
Read scorecard →Missouri's primary statewide law-enforcement oversight mechanisms are: (1) the Division of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) within DPS, whose director holds decertification authority over individual officers under RSMo §590 but cannot investigate agencies; (2) the state-controlled Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners (§84.350+), four civilians plus the mayor appointed by the Governor, with exclusive binding-discipline authority over KCPD; and (3) the reorganized St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners (§84.020+, effective March 2025), similarly Governor-appointed civilians with binding authority over SLPD. RSMo §590.653 (2024) enables—but does not require—local civilian review boards statewide, limiting them to advisory recommendations. No statewide corrections inspector general exists; the Sentencing and Corrections Oversight Commission (§217.147) expired in 2018.